As the summer season slips into a lower gear I have found myself taking inventory of summer '17 and reflecting on the erratic temperatures, the crazy political landscape, and the fact that, like seasons, things change. I mean they really change. Maybe in this fast-paced world we should expect such things but it never gets easy to adjust to change. Circles of friends change, LA traffic patterns change, hair products we have grown to love and cherish are taken off the market. All of these things force us out of our comfort zone and into quests for new paths and ways of thought.
In my paintings I have found changes as well. I have stepped away from the monotone subdued puddles of forest green and grey that I was exploring throughout the last two years. Those pieces would sell and that's because people wanted calm paintings in their spaces. They wanted something that wouldn't over power a room but rather complement it. They wanted decor. And I was ready and willing to supply that demand because I need money. Not just to keep me in canvas and paints but to support the indulgent eating habit of my 7 year old Pomimo and to buy me the space and freedom to live a life where I can learn and explore at will. So I have stepped out of that period and into splashes of bright color and unabashed primaries. Freeing up my brush strokes and really learning how to create movement AND HOW TO WALK AWAY FROM A PAINTING when I believe it is finished. That is not easy to do. And often times i can work and rework a piece until it turns right back into muddy forest greens and greys. And then that sells! That is when I wash off the brushes and paint from my hands and pack it up for a nice movie or a pint by the water.
My summer blockbuster list of great movies has to start with "Baby Driver." By far my favorite summer flick and the soundtrack is equally as epic especially on vinyl. I find less and less people that are interested in movies at the theater. And I can see why. We pretty much have been able to access newly released movies right in our homes with equally as great picture quality and sound. Still i love the ritual of going to the theater and watching it amongst an audience (as long as that audience is well behaved and not kicking the back of my seat). I relish in a big bucket of "make your tummy sick" artificially buttered popcorn and some sour patch kids washed down with a big gulp of soda. I enjoy being fully "in it" with my cell phone on silent and my ass squirming in my seat with anticipation. It's one of my rituals.
Rituals have always been important to me. Important to a lot of people in the way they bring us back to our roots. They have the power to heal and to clear the mind. Some people garden, others basket weave, and others light incense and meditate. Whatever it is we have these sacred processes that are simplified and part of our heritage. They can get us out of our heads and into our purpose or a purpose in the moment until we figure out our larger directive. And why would we want to be out of our heads? I presume most of us are great knowledge seeking humans that have valid thought processes and smart ideas. The reason we can find such problems inside our heads is because we cannot help our 5 sensory personalities from worrying about the future or past. And we cannot help our 5 sensory personalities from comparing ourselves to others. What I mean by 5 sensory personalities is those characteristics we can sense by touch, smell, taste, sight, and sound. It is a way to describe our personalities on a primitive level. It is part of what makes us human but it is not all that makes us human in fact it doesn't even separate us from primates. What makes us human is our multi sensory personality. Our spirit makes us human. And when we are participating in rituals whether casual or formal we are not thinking. We are connecting. Connecting with ourselves, someone else, or a collective consciousness that may or may not include ancestors who did that same ritual for those same purposes. A ritual is like a glorified hobby. I highly recommend them. Lose yourself in a ritual today.
As I type this my clothing dryer is buzzing like a drunken army of bees reminding me that rituals can also suck! But i better attend to that if I want a calm household and fresh scented clothing. If even for a few minutes. Till next time.
